Fight For Life
by captainstrange
Summary: Harley just wanted to protect her family, but she soon realized she couldn't do it alone. So when she comes across some seemingly sane survivors, she takes the risk and joins them. And things go well for a while, but surely it wouldn't last. I mean, the world went to shit right? Or did they forget that? Starts Season 2.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
**

* * *

It had just been a normal day, no one had ever suspected that the flu would turn into the apocalypse. But it had. When I went to work, and saw what some colleagues were showing, I couldn't believe it. Cops shooting an unarmed man... That wouldn't die. Till they shot his head. But then I heard my sister's boyfriend talking about something he had seen on the street, a homeless man eating the flesh of another human. But how he described his eyes, that's what sparked my attention.. They looked dead. But then the news reports came out, and told everyone to go to the nearest refugee center, and then I knew shit was serious. I had packed up both mine, and my sons stuff and when my sister got home with her boyfriend, told them to do the same. But that was a few months ago, and Atlanta had been a bust. They had bombed the city, and obviously hoped that would kill most of the infected. But it hadn't. And now the four of us were left surviving, against the dead. It was human instinct to at least _try_ to survive. To protect the ones we love.

My eyes scanned the town we were currently in, for a supply run. Food was running low, and we barely had enough to last us the week. Natasha and Carson stayed in the car, while myself and Caleb ran to the store. It was a small town, but it wasn't that far from Atlanta. It looked mostly untouched, except for the few infected that walked the streets. Both Caleb and I had magazines duck taped to our bodies, it made it harder for the infected to bite us. We took down the few dead that were walking over before pounding on the door of the store, hoping to catch the attention of any inside. We waited a few minutes before we went in, doing a quick search of the place. When we found it was empty, we started raiding the shelves for canned goods.

"Harley, hey. This any good?" Caleb whispered to me, holding up a few boxes of cereal.

"Yeah, I'm sure they will be," I nodded to him before going back to my bag.

I searched round the store for some toys for Carson, as he was lacking entertainment and constantly complained about being bored. If we were still in our normal lives, he would be playing video games, and the like. And while he had my old gameboy, the batteries had run out and we were struggling to find some. Caleb walked over, holding up exactly what we needed and I grinned.

"He's gonna love ya for finding them," I said, gesturing the 18 pack of batteries as I heard a female scream, and a shout of 'mommy'. "Carson!" I shouted as I ran out of the store with my bag on my back, crossbow in hand.

More vehicles had pulled up, and three people were aiming at my car. Carson was crying, clinging to his aunt. _People are more dangerous than the infected_ , I thought to myself, slowly walking closer to them.

"Put your weapons down, and I won't hurt you," I growl at them, sensing Caleb behind me. I kept my eyes on the three, waiting for them to turn around.

They did, and I quickly took note of their appearance. One had a sheriff's hat on his head and was holding a Colt Python, while the second man was carrying a shotgun and the third was covered in blood and mud, and carried a crossbow.

"Back away from the car," I barked, gesturing with my crossbow in which direction I wanted them to go in.

"We don't want to hurt you, or your people," Sheriff hat said. "We're just looking for a place to stay."

"If you didn't want to hurt us, why did you have your weapons on them? On a nine year old!" Caleb yelled, and as I glanced, I noticed he had his assault rifle out and pointing.

"Can't be too careful these days," shotgun chuckled, staring at them.

"If you want to laugh, I can give you something to laugh about," I smirked, pulling out my pocket knife from my boot. "I can even give you a permanent smile.."

"Oh, come on, Harley. This isn't the time for that," Caleb laughed, walking over to the car and opened the door, as Carson and Natasha climbed out.

"Yeah, sis. Stop channeling your lover, and just kill them. Quick and easy, ya know?" Natasha said, walking over.

"'Channeling ya lover?' What the hell does that mean?" Crossbow frowned, looking between us.

"Oh, well.. My parents named me after Harley Quinn for a reason.. And I really wanna get back to my puddin'," I smirked.

"Woah, you know The Joker?" a young child's voice came out from behind them, and my expression changed. He looked a little older than Carson, and I looked up at the men.

"Carl, get back to the car," Sheriff hat ordered him.

"But, dad! You know-"

"No, buts. Go!"

The child frowned, looking up at Shotgun before going back to the cars.

"How many you got?" I asked, gesturing to the kid with my crossbow.

"Two kids, nine adults. You?" Sheriff Hat replied.

"Exactly what you see here. No more, no less. Except one of us is carrying, so she's plus one," I stated, looking at my sister then down at her growing bump.

Caleb wrapped his arms protectively around Natasha and her bump, glaring at the men. Carson took my hand, staring at the crossbow the man was holding.

"Look, I know you probably have a plan or something but.. Strength is in numbers, and I'm sure you guys are looking for a place to stay too-" Sheriff Hat was saying, till Caleb interrupted him.

"How do we know we can trust you? Any of you? I mean, your shotgun friend looks a little trigger happy," he nodded the to middle man, frowning.

"Ya leader looks a little trigger happy too," Crossbow snapped.

"Can't be too careful these days," I smirked. "People are worse than the infected."

"I'm Rick, and this is Shane, and Daryl," Sheriff Hat spoke, gesturing to his fellow men.

"Harley, Caleb, Natasha, and Carson," I replied, lowering my crossbow. "You guys might wanna raid this store before you leave, looks like we were the first to touch it so there's still a lot left." Rick nodded his thanks, just as Carson caught my attention about an infected in the street. "Yeah, go ahead, little man. It's your turn."

Carson grinned, as he grabbed his own crossbow from the car and took aim at the infected being. We all watched as his arrow flew through the air and broke through the flesh of the infected forehead.

"Booyah, go Carson!" Caleb laughed, congratulating him on his kill.

In the end, we decided to tag along with this group. We didn't have a plan, and neither did they. But the key to surviving was together, and although I didn't trust Shane, Rick seemed nice enough. Of course, I didn't fully trust them yet, neither did Caleb. But what was the harm in joining together, even if it was for a week or two?

* * *

 **A/N - Thanks for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed. Leave a review for where you think I could improve, but I have several plans for this group.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

That night, our newly formed group sought safety in one of the local houses. Caleb, Rick, Daryl and I cleared it out, making sure it was safe for everyone before we moved them in. Carson raided the cupboards for us, while Natasha and Caleb gathered up blankets for everyone. I sat on the roof of my car outside, keeping watch while everyone settled down inside. I hadn't spoken to any of the others yet, I hadn't had reason to. But Natasha seemed to be talking to a blonde woman, and a brunette. I think the brunette was Rick's wife, but I couldn't be sure. There was also a woman with short, grey-ish hair that kept talking to Carson, and I think her daughter was here too. I had also spotted an elderly man, and an Asian. But that had only counted as ten, where was the eleventh?

"You keeping watch?" Rick asked, with a small chuckle.

"I'm used to it. Caleb and I always swap out, with Natasha being pregnant and shit... It's my job to protect them," I replied, shrugging. "Brunette's your missus, yeah?"

Rick looked at who I was talking about and nodded, "That she is, her names Lori. Your husband die?"

I frowned, looking at him. "I was never married. But if you wanna know about Carson's dad, he skipped outta town before I found out. I was just eighteen."

"Where did he learn to shoot a crossbow?" _This guy and his questions_ , I thought to myself.

"Taught him myself, he had his own and I had mine. But he's been eying up your hunter's one since we met ya," I laughed, watching as Carson came out. "Find anything interesting?"

"Lots of beans, and some tinned peas," he replied innocently, climbing on top of the car. "When can we go hunting, mom? I want some stew."

"Don't worry, kid. Daryl headed out not too long after we left, said something about being scared that a youngster was gonna steal his bow," Rick teased him, causing him to laugh. God, I had missed that sound.

"Stay inside for now, okay? Go see Caleb, he found something for you, okay?" He nodded, kissing my cheek and raced inside. I glanced at Rick to seeing him eyeing me, "The batteries on the old gameboy keep running out, but we look every time we go on runs."

"Carl and Sophia get bored a lot too, we have a pack of playing cards but that's all."

"Hard to entertain a kid these days, a lot harder to keep them safe too."

* * *

I had joined Natasha in the living room, watching the women she was conversing with. I had taken the seat beside her, and listened in on their conversation. It was mostly baby talk, and I was already sick of that from Caleb. I had quickly moved from the room, and gone to the kitchen. Carson was sitting on the floor, playing on the gameboy with Carl and the young girl sitting either side of him.

"Share, Carson," I told him, which got me a 'sure, mom' in response. I rolled my eyes, and went upstairs, looking in each of the rooms. In one, I came across the eleventh person I hadn't seen. "Who're you?"

He looked startled as he looked up from his magazine, my eyes narrowed on him as I took note of what it was.

"Names T-Dog. You're Harley, right?"

I nodded in response, "Nice magazine you got there. Maybe keep it away from children's eyes though, yeah?"

As I searched the rooms, I noticed Natasha and Caleb were set up in one, but all our stuff had been put in there. The other two rooms had also been claimed, one by Rick's family and the other by the short-haired lady and her daughter - I'm guessing. As I left a room, I came face to face with Shane, and he gave me a look.

"What you doing snooping through our rooms, huh?" He asked, accusingly.

"I was just checking where everyone was settled in, actually. Calm down, you trigger happy bastard," I snapped back, before going to push past him.

"It's none of your business where everyone is, you ain't our leader," he pushed me back to where I was.

"Why don't you fuck off, and concentrate on your own group, and I'll concentrate on protecting my family, yeah?"

"Everything okay here?" a new voice came from the stairs, and I glanced over. The elderly man.

"Just fine, Dale. Go back downstairs," Shane said, glaring at me.

Dale chose to ignore him, and looked at me, "Are you okay, miss?"

I nodded, giving him a fake smile, "Yes, sir. Name's Harley, won't take any of that Miss crap from anyone."

"Nice to meet you, Harley. I'm Dale. Why don't you come downstairs and I'll introduce you to everyone?" He suggested, gesturing down the stairs. I happily agreed, and followed him down, eager to get away from Shane. "Well, you've met Rick, Shane and Daryl. This is Rick's wife, Lori. This beautiful girl is Andrea."

"Nice to meet you," they both said, smiling.

"Girls, this is Harley. Natasha's sister, and Carson's mother, right?" Dale looked at me, looking for confirmation, I nodded. "Right, now. Over here we have Glenn and T-Dog. And in the kitchen is Carol and Sophia, the young girl next to your boy." I greeted everyone, thanking Dale before going over to Caleb, who was standing off to the side.

"Got anything?" I mumbled to him, arms folding over my chest as I watched over the group with him.

"They all seem harmless, wouldn't hurt to stick with them for a while. Gotta keep an eye on Shane though," he replied, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yeah, I already thought that when we met him. But when I was checking out upstairs just now, he put his hands on me. Keep him away from Tash, 'kay?"

"You know it, Harls. What's your opinion on that Daryl guy?"

"Seems harmless enough, probably got a rough past though. Why?" I look up at him.

"Thought maybe you two could team up with the whole hunting thing. Easier to track deer with four eyes, right?" He smirked, his gaze leaving me as the door opened. "Speak of the devil."

"Is that squirrel?" Carson's eyes lit up as he raced over to the hunter, poking the dead animal. "I love squirrel!"

Several of the adults laughed at the young boy, who was eagerly bouncing up and down on the spot. Daryl passed off the string to him, his eyes watching the child's every move as Carson went over to his bag and took out his knife. He quickly took a seat and started to skin the animal.

"Careful, Carson. Fingers aren't food, yeah?" I warned him, and he nodded, still fully concentrating.

"Where'd the kid learn to skin?"

I looked up as I heard the southern drawl, my eyes locking with Daryl's as Caleb walked over to the young boy.

"Taught him myself, a few years back. Thanks for catching the squirrel though, kid hasn't stopped chattering on about eating squirrel stew for days now. Just haven't had time to go hunting since we found out about Tash. I'm really grateful."

Daryl nodded in acknowledgement. _A man of few words_ , I thought to myself with a light chuckle.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

The convoy of vehicles rolled down the streets and onto the highway, as we set off for our next safety place. The motorbike was in front, alongside the RV. The Cherokee was just behind, followed by my four-by-four. Caleb was driving, while I was in the passenger seat. Natasha was talking quietly to Carson in the back, trying to keep him entertained for the journey. My head was angled towards the window, as I watched the bushes, roads and broken down cars fly by us. My hand was lazily holding my crossbow in the foot well, the weapon digging into my boot uncomfortably. I hadn't had much sleep since we grouped with Rick and his family, I still didn't fully trust them, neither did Caleb. One of us was always on watch, which Natasha had felt was unnecessary. She trusted them. So did Carson. But Carson didn't understand the dangers, neither did Natasha. Caleb and I had seen it with our own eyes, when we were on a supply run at the start.

 _We had been in a small town not that far from the city, Caleb had suggested we raided the shops in the center of town for supplies while Natasha and Carson stayed behind. I agreed, as we were running low of food and water. I had also been running low on arrows. When we arrived, we stuck together as we cleared out the pharmacy for any antibiotics. We then moved on to the hardware store, and gathered anything that could be useful. After we had moved to the grocery store, and that's when things turn to shit, even more._

 _"Hey, look what we have here. A nice piece of ass," a gruff voice came from behind me. My eyes widened, quickly glancing around for Caleb. "Hey, Shawn. Think we should take her? I know Dan would appreciate her." I spun around and saw the guy smirking._

 _"Ooh, yeah. She would look mighty fine on her knees, with a dick between her lips," a second guy said, a smirk also on his lips. The first guy went out to grab my arm, but I blocked him, pushing the arm away. "Feisty, just the way I like 'em."_

 _They grabbed me by my arms, as I yelled out for Caleb. A hand had clamped down over my mouth and nose, stopping me from breathing. I heard a 'quiet, bitch' from the second guy as the first went around the shop in search of Caleb. All of a sudden, the arms on me loosened as we fell to the floor. Above me, I saw Caleb and he helped me up._

 _'Second guy, over there,' I mouthed to him, pointing in the direction the guy had gone in. He nodded, and went off as I searched for my bow. When he came back, he was wiping blood of his knife with a dirty rag. "We don't tell Tasha about this."_

I sighed quietly, as I was brought back from my thoughts by the RV, which was making an absurd noise. Caleb got out, followed by Carson. I stayed in the car with Natasha, reaching back to squeeze her hand gently, giving her a look which I hoped read as 'we will be okay, I know we will be'. Caleb gestured for us to get out, and we strolled up to him.

"RV's broken down. Gonna look through these cars for anything worth keeping," he informed us, kissing Natasha's head.

"Alright, Carson stay with Caleb and Natasha, okay? Help them find some baby stuff, and maybe you'll find even more batteries for your game," I told him, he nodded and grabbed Natasha's hand.

"Maybe we can find the baby batman stuff," he said, looking up at his aunt.

I laugh as the two walk of to a car, Caleb nods at me before following them. I hang back, looking across the spread out group beside Rick. He was looking down the scope of his rifle, searching for danger. I smirked, shaking my head.

"You know, if you look for danger, it's more likely to come," I muttered to him quietly.

"I don't look for it, I just keep an eye out for it," he replied.

"That's looking for it, Sheriff."

He chuckled, and went back to looking down his scope. Minutes passed, and just as I thought, danger had arrived. Rick told us to get under the cars, and I happily followed that order. I slid under the car, and a few cars away I saw Caleb, Carson and Natasha huddled together. I smile at them, watching my son's eyes as they showed fear. After what felt like forever, the herd of infected started to thin out. Then a scream came, my eyes instantly darting to where my family was. It wasn't them. I looked around and saw the young girl, Sophia, getting chased by walkers and I quickly scrambled out from under the car and went after her. I had been faster than Rick, and got down there before him. My eyes looked down over the leaves and twigs, searching for her trail. Rick came up behind me, startling me as he broke a twig.

"Go back, I can find her," I uttered to him, following her trail. He didn't leave though, and I groaned softly as I heard her scream again and he raced off after it. _She could be anywhere, don't go following echos, you stupid cop._


End file.
